Brownout due today... we already had a ten minute outage but the electricity went back on.
To make things worse, Thunderstorms also due later today.
So probably I won't blog until evening.
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
China's noodle war
Halal noodle restaurant opens too close to another Halal noodle restaurant, and things then get a little crazy.
LINK
LINK2
it is an ethnic fast food, and these restaurants are usually run by Chinese minorities.
Recipe HERE.
more HERE.including recipe.
these are essentially a spicy version of ramen noodle soup, but with nicer noodles, because they are hand pulled noodles, not the lousy ones in the packages, and include a spicy condiment (here, they give you this on the side to add if you wish).... and the oil added uses hot red peppers.
Heh. Wonder if they know peppers are from South America?
On the other hand, noodles are Chinese, aren't they?
NPR on the history of noodles.
Chinese use fresh dough noodles, not dried as is done in Italy, and the noodles might have made their way west with Genghis Khan, not Marco Polo.
In the US, my kids called this "Spaghetti soup" but here in the Philippines, it is called Mami noodles.
no, it doesn't get it's name from Mama but from MaMonLuk, who introduced the soup to Manila.
LINK
LINK2
it is an ethnic fast food, and these restaurants are usually run by Chinese minorities.
Recipe HERE.
more HERE.including recipe.
these are essentially a spicy version of ramen noodle soup, but with nicer noodles, because they are hand pulled noodles, not the lousy ones in the packages, and include a spicy condiment (here, they give you this on the side to add if you wish).... and the oil added uses hot red peppers.
Heh. Wonder if they know peppers are from South America?
On the other hand, noodles are Chinese, aren't they?
NPR on the history of noodles.
Chinese use fresh dough noodles, not dried as is done in Italy, and the noodles might have made their way west with Genghis Khan, not Marco Polo.
In the US, my kids called this "Spaghetti soup" but here in the Philippines, it is called Mami noodles.
no, it doesn't get it's name from Mama but from MaMonLuk, who introduced the soup to Manila.
Stories below the fold
No, I'm not watching the conventions in the USA but Dave Barry has a report on them:
------------------
the good news in all of this is that the MSM finally has figured out that most of Wikileaks is inspired by Russia.
on the other hand, it points out what is wrong with Hillary having an unsecure private email server discussing matters marked "top secret"
I mean, at least make them work a bit hard to steal secrets.
Personal note: My federal personnel file was hacked, along with millions of other folk's files, from the federal gov't computers. Is anyone taking the cyberwars seriously in the federal gov't?
------------------------------
Pokeman has hit Indonesia.
Fatwa? What fatwa?
and it's coming here soon.
-----------------------------------
A "Pope Francis Catholic as Democratic VP?
-------------------------------------
How did that steamship end up in a cornfield
------------------------
Drug dealers are the new enemy, but the commies, not so much.
On the other hand, in some poor areas they are the ones defending the poor farmers from exploitation...but like the mafia, they also kidnap, shoot people and sell drugs.
----------------------------
Sigh. now 200 thousand people in Northern China displaced by flooding. Heavy monsoon rains the cause, the they are angry because the gov't didn't warn them soon enough.
in our prayers
-----------------------
mass murder: it's not just for Muslims angry white men any more.
A center for disabled elderly hit by a knife wielding crazy in Japan.
in our prayers.
This is, of course, a "copycat " effect, where someone with mental illness who has violent impulses gets the idea they now are allowed to act on these ideas.
----------------------------------------
forget Brexit: the big news is the Cat fight in the UK
-------------------------------
PHILADELPHIA So now the Russians are involved. Yes! According to rumors circulating here — and if we can’t trust circulating rumors, what can we trust? — it was the Russians who leaked the Democratic National Committee emails, because they wanted to embarrass Hillary Clinton. The theory is that the Russians are secretly supporting Donald Trump, as evidenced by the following evidence:
▪ “Ivanka” sounds kind of Russian.
=Vladimir Putin has been wearing a baseball cap that says “Make America Great Again.”
------------------
the good news in all of this is that the MSM finally has figured out that most of Wikileaks is inspired by Russia.
on the other hand, it points out what is wrong with Hillary having an unsecure private email server discussing matters marked "top secret"
I mean, at least make them work a bit hard to steal secrets.
Personal note: My federal personnel file was hacked, along with millions of other folk's files, from the federal gov't computers. Is anyone taking the cyberwars seriously in the federal gov't?
------------------------------
Pokeman has hit Indonesia.
Fatwa? What fatwa?
and it's coming here soon.
-----------------------------------
A "Pope Francis Catholic as Democratic VP?
-------------------------------------
How did that steamship end up in a cornfield
------------------------
Drug dealers are the new enemy, but the commies, not so much.
On the other hand, in some poor areas they are the ones defending the poor farmers from exploitation...but like the mafia, they also kidnap, shoot people and sell drugs.
----------------------------
Sigh. now 200 thousand people in Northern China displaced by flooding. Heavy monsoon rains the cause, the they are angry because the gov't didn't warn them soon enough.
in our prayers
-----------------------
mass murder: it's not just for
A center for disabled elderly hit by a knife wielding crazy in Japan.
in our prayers.
This is, of course, a "copycat " effect, where someone with mental illness who has violent impulses gets the idea they now are allowed to act on these ideas.
----------------------------------------
forget Brexit: the big news is the Cat fight in the UK
-------------------------------
Crowdfunding in rehab
Dustubury reports from rehab.after spinal surgery
And asks his readers if they like his blog to add to his tip jar.
I don't have money but will pass on the request, because I enjoy reading about shoes, my little Pony, and of course the sports news from OKC.st
And asks his readers if they like his blog to add to his tip jar.
I don't have money but will pass on the request, because I enjoy reading about shoes, my little Pony, and of course the sports news from OKC.st
Monday, July 25, 2016
Sherlock is coming
Deadline Hollywood reports on a ComicCon discussion about next year's season 4 of Sherlock.
hopefully the plot won't fall apart at the end like the Abomidable Bride. Yes it hints at what might come next year, but I hate dreams pretending to be real.
headsup from hercules at AICN.
hopefully the plot won't fall apart at the end like the Abomidable Bride. Yes it hints at what might come next year, but I hate dreams pretending to be real.
headsup from hercules at AICN.
Quick. Henry, the FLIT
The latest bad news about Zika is that it might be spread by the Culex mosquito, which is found commonly found in temperate zones.
To paraphrase Airplane: Looks like we picked the wrong century to quit DDT...
To paraphrase Airplane: Looks like we picked the wrong century to quit DDT...
Philippine news
AlJ has an article on the Abus: fighting while high on Shabu, kidnapping to get ransoms to buy guns, and of course, sharing the wealth with relatives and local politicians etc to stay protected.
related item: Local ex mayor drug lord arrested.
Well this relates bribes paid to protect the perpetrators
--------------------
StrategyPage on Japan's investments in Burma, that replace China's investments. This means they won't be punished if they defend the Philippines at ASEAN. It's the democracy stupid so they have to pay attention to the locals.
The eal danger: If Zika spreads to SEAsia.
The DOH plans to test athletes when they come back from the Olympics.
But what if the virus comes back with visitors? There has been a Dengue epidemic in SE Asia for decades, and it is the same mosquito.
And no, I haven't seen anyone spraying the open ditches albeit the main drainage canal is now covered.
-----------------------
Reports are that the President is going around on his motorcycle checking out problems in Manila.
his hard line on drugs is "splitting the public".
Translation: Human right folks are worried as is the Catholic church but hey, the ordinary folks are happy.
related item: Local ex mayor drug lord arrested.
Remember that massacre of all those reporters?
Adrian Alvaro, PDEA Northern Mindanao chief, told reporters that the former mayor heads the Abinal drug ring, described as the biggest supplier of shabu in the regions of Southern Mindanao, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Central Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“They (Abinal drug group) are dealing drugs in bulk,” Alvaro said.
“If the orders are huge, [the payment is done] through bank to bank transactions, and on consignment basis,” Alvaro said.
Alvaro said the group obtains its supply from Chinese drug lords in Manila and has been in the illegal drug trade for the past 15 years.
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/798554/narcs-arrest-ex-mayor-tagged-as-mindanao-drug-queen#ixzz4FN7UR9MK Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Well this relates bribes paid to protect the perpetrators
--------------------
StrategyPage on Japan's investments in Burma, that replace China's investments. This means they won't be punished if they defend the Philippines at ASEAN. It's the democracy stupid so they have to pay attention to the locals.
--------------------
Currently China is eager to buy some regional allies (especially Thailand, Burma and Malaysia) to get some support for Chinese expansion efforts in the South China Sea. China is willing to pay a lot for such support. But Burmese officials knew that most Burmese feared China and backed cracking down on illegal economic activity on the Chinese border and punishing Chinese firms that behave badly while building large new mines and power plants in thinly populated rural areas.
The eal danger: If Zika spreads to SEAsia.
The DOH plans to test athletes when they come back from the Olympics.
But what if the virus comes back with visitors? There has been a Dengue epidemic in SE Asia for decades, and it is the same mosquito.
And no, I haven't seen anyone spraying the open ditches albeit the main drainage canal is now covered.
-----------------------
Reports are that the President is going around on his motorcycle checking out problems in Manila.
his hard line on drugs is "splitting the public".
Translation: Human right folks are worried as is the Catholic church but hey, the ordinary folks are happy.
Family news
Joy and Ruby left for her school in Manila, and with various projects etc they will stay there all week. Why not? It's very unhappy here for both of them.
Alas, the shower in their bedroom doesn't drain so they use mine, and at 3 am, Ruby used my shower, and also used my last towel so I guess I'll have to drip dry myself. When they got moved down here, their towels didn't get moved, or else they are among the unpacked clothing in the closet. Bummer.
I am over the stomach flu and feeling better.
Kuya is building a gazebo and trellis in my tiny front garden. He removed two trees and planted veggies and corn in a beautiful pattern. Now it is his garden. I had planted veggies there, and we had harvested most of them, but now I guess we won't get any more from our garden.
But the main problem is that it is now claustrophobic: Lolo only wanted grass, so had removed a lot of bushes etc. Now it's full of clutter. Beautiful clutter but whatever. But I was told that the house is not mine, and the threat of being thrown out after the will is probated hangs over my head.
IIt also means we can't hang the wash out there: Right now it is hung in our living room and the spare bedroom, which usually we only use when it rains.
It also makes me angry: No money to fix up the house, no money for his child's schoolwork, but plenty to make the public areas pretty.
No, I am fine: I have my social security and here it goes a long way.
Alas, the shower in their bedroom doesn't drain so they use mine, and at 3 am, Ruby used my shower, and also used my last towel so I guess I'll have to drip dry myself. When they got moved down here, their towels didn't get moved, or else they are among the unpacked clothing in the closet. Bummer.
I am over the stomach flu and feeling better.
Kuya is building a gazebo and trellis in my tiny front garden. He removed two trees and planted veggies and corn in a beautiful pattern. Now it is his garden. I had planted veggies there, and we had harvested most of them, but now I guess we won't get any more from our garden.
But the main problem is that it is now claustrophobic: Lolo only wanted grass, so had removed a lot of bushes etc. Now it's full of clutter. Beautiful clutter but whatever. But I was told that the house is not mine, and the threat of being thrown out after the will is probated hangs over my head.
IIt also means we can't hang the wash out there: Right now it is hung in our living room and the spare bedroom, which usually we only use when it rains.
It also makes me angry: No money to fix up the house, no money for his child's schoolwork, but plenty to make the public areas pretty.
No, I am fine: I have my social security and here it goes a long way.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Fishermen story
a nice story at Reuters about the annual pilgrimage of fishermen to the island of MacDara.
more HERE.
Mac Dara’s Island- a small island off the coast of Carna – was home in the sixth century to St. Mac Dara, Connemara’s most respected saint. He built a one-room chapel here, with a dirt floor, walls of huge stones and a steep stone roof.
...A long tradition of pilgrimage to the church on the island exists on this day for Mass and celebration (people also take picnics and go for strolls around the island if the weather is good). The local fishermen give of their time and their boats by ferrying people out to the island in the morning and back in the afternoon. Others make their way out by canoe, currach and hooker.
NYTimes story of the abandoned islands off the west coast of Ireland.
St. MacDara, the patron saint of seafarers, is believed to have built the small church on the island in the sixth century. After mass, the locally crafted boats, known as Galway Hookers, bow their sails in the direction of the church three times to bless the year ahead.
more HERE.
Mac Dara’s Island- a small island off the coast of Carna – was home in the sixth century to St. Mac Dara, Connemara’s most respected saint. He built a one-room chapel here, with a dirt floor, walls of huge stones and a steep stone roof.
...A long tradition of pilgrimage to the church on the island exists on this day for Mass and celebration (people also take picnics and go for strolls around the island if the weather is good). The local fishermen give of their time and their boats by ferrying people out to the island in the morning and back in the afternoon. Others make their way out by canoe, currach and hooker.
NYTimes story of the abandoned islands off the west coast of Ireland.
Missing: WIMPS
LAT reports they can't find dark matter with the LUX detector, but will try again next time with a new, imporved deterctor.
translation: They may have to rewrite the theory.
a discussion of various theories
The fact that LUX did not find anything might help to narrow down some of the models for dark matter, Gaitskell said. Of course, there’s always the possibility that this and similar detectors are on the wrong track, because dark matter isn’t some kind of weakly interacting particle at all.
so what does this mean? from UniverseToday:
Not long ago, many scientists proposed that Dark Matter consists of Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), which are about 100 times the mass of a proton but interact like neutrinos. However, all attempts to find WIMPs using colliders experiments have come up empty. As such, scientists have been exploring the idea lately that dark matter may be composed of something else entirely.,,
translation: They may have to rewrite the theory.
a discussion of various theories
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Apollo is back
I liked the Percy Jackson series, partly because one of my areas of interest outside of medicine is ancient Greece.
But although I looked forward to his Norse series, I found it too confusing: going up and down the tree of life made my head spin, and the main character is not as vulnerable or loyal to his friends as Percy Jackson.
But don't worry, kids: Percy is back (for the first three chapters anyway) when Zeus decides to punish Apollo for his misdeeds in the earlier series, and send him to earth as a 16 year old wimp with acne and sans superpowers.
and yes, Percy wrecks his mom's car again.
An easy way to teach your kids mythology.
The book just came out in paperback so I bought it for Ruby, who missed the end of the last series because she was reading House of Hades when her car got flooded in the typhoon a couple years ago... so she missed the end of the series.
Of course, now she is a bit beyond kidfiction, and into Jane Austen...
kids grow up fast.
But although I looked forward to his Norse series, I found it too confusing: going up and down the tree of life made my head spin, and the main character is not as vulnerable or loyal to his friends as Percy Jackson.
But don't worry, kids: Percy is back (for the first three chapters anyway) when Zeus decides to punish Apollo for his misdeeds in the earlier series, and send him to earth as a 16 year old wimp with acne and sans superpowers.
and yes, Percy wrecks his mom's car again.
An easy way to teach your kids mythology.
The book just came out in paperback so I bought it for Ruby, who missed the end of the last series because she was reading House of Hades when her car got flooded in the typhoon a couple years ago... so she missed the end of the series.
Of course, now she is a bit beyond kidfiction, and into Jane Austen...
kids grow up fast.
Factoid of the day: Palantir
Palantir is a computer program that analyzes information.
At this point, listen to previous podcast link,
on how it allows them to run your life on many levels.
Tolkien would be aghast: One theme of LOTR is the danger of experts running your life (read Scouring of the Shire, which was left out of the movie).
however, like all tools it is valuable to analyze threats to the public.
Strategypage discusses how troops prefer to use the commercial app Palantir over the government app when they analyze intelligence. This annoys the bureaucrats, the main sin in todays US Military.
Palantir Intelligence is a complete, proven solution that is used throughout the intelligence community to efficiently, effectively, and securely exploit and analyze data, leading to more informed operational planning and strategic decision-making.This is a commercial app. But this is the back story on the big brother elites that have all your personal information as discussed in the previous webcast.
At this point, listen to previous podcast link,
on how it allows them to run your life on many levels.
Tolkien would be aghast: One theme of LOTR is the danger of experts running your life (read Scouring of the Shire, which was left out of the movie).
however, like all tools it is valuable to analyze threats to the public.
Strategypage discusses how troops prefer to use the commercial app Palantir over the government app when they analyze intelligence. This annoys the bureaucrats, the main sin in todays US Military.
The new elite who run the world
A lecture from the UK Univ of Bath:
In this IPR Public Lecture Professor Janine Wedel - IPR Global Chair and Professor in the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs at George Mason University - introduces a new breed of influence elite that has emerged over the past several decades.
In contrast to the 'power elites' described by sociologist C. Wright Mills a half century ago, she argues, the muscle of today’s influence elites resides at least as much in social networks as in command-and-control bureaucracy.
These novel elites are less visible, less stable, and more mobile and global in reach than their forebears. They hold sway through informal, flexible, and unaccountable means and use consulting firms, think tanks, nonprofits, and 'grassroots organisations', among other entities, as vehicles of influence, not to mention the Internet and social media.
Professor Wedel also contends that today’s influence elites largely defy democratic oversight. linkBernie was trying to fight this but got destroyed by the Clinton machine. Trump is left, and is using the public's frustration to get elected.
I didn't see his speech, but the MSM meme is that it was angry.
Heh. Yathink?
reminds me of this movie snip:
Friday, July 22, 2016
Hell freezes over stories of the day
Muslims for Trump? And he even has one give a prayer for the convention in prime time.
A Muslim reporter is treated politely but told politely they back Trump;s opposition to Islamic immigration.
====================
We expected a riot, we got a block party says the WAPO
Instapundit quips: Americans keep ourperforming their elite's expectations.
---------------------
Michael Moore says: Trump's gonna win.
------------------------
no I am not watching the election. Being able to ignore US politics is one reason I am happy to live here.
And like most of my fellow democrats overseas, I backed Bernie.
A Muslim reporter is treated politely but told politely they back Trump;s opposition to Islamic immigration.
====================
We expected a riot, we got a block party says the WAPO
Instapundit quips: Americans keep ourperforming their elite's expectations.
---------------------
Michael Moore says: Trump's gonna win.
------------------------
no I am not watching the election. Being able to ignore US politics is one reason I am happy to live here.
And like most of my fellow democrats overseas, I backed Bernie.
No more VCR's
They are planning to stop making VCR's.
The secret of VCR's is that you could tape shows and movies to watch later. I had a whole library of classic films.
Now you just download them from Netflix to watch.
Stories below the fold
Single mothers in Brazil trying to raise their Zika babies.
Sigh. The problem is one third are not married, and they don't have the extended family in the slums as they did when they lived in villages.
They are Catholic, but few attend church: Often they get their spirituality from folk (pagan) religion.
This pope is emphasizing mercy and pushing the rich into caring for the poor, but not telling the poor things like the importance of marrying the mother of your child and not cheating on her. Indeed, he is busy trying to destroy the Catholic rules that date back to that nasty Jewish carpenter who said divorce is a no no. Because if you think people should follow the rules that protect the innocent, you are "judgmental".
The Pentecostal solution is having preachers from their own lower class background, not upper class outsiders. These preachers emphasize God loves them, but expects you to actually follow his rules.... they train the men to be faithful, and the church home becomes an extended family to help them out.
Which is why the Catholic church is losing members there.
the west pushes abortion as the way to stop Zika microcephaly, but as the woman in the LATimes story says, she got it late in pregnancy and the ultrasound didn't pick it up. And you don't do abortions at 8 months...the kid will live unless you do a very risky procedure to kill it inside the womb when it is half born.
--------------------------
Strategypage discusses the changing mess in Syria...
----------------------
the heck with the political conventions: ComicCon has the real news: Valerian is coming.
no I am not a follower of the Marvel Universe, but hey, they rule the boxoffice...
and the new Startrek movie is not getting good reviews... personally, I don't like the reboot, except for Scottie. Too many special effects that distract one from the story... and Chris Pine plays Kirk as an immature Kingsman-type smart ass. In the original series, he was Odysseus, the trickster who never had a problem he couldn't figure a way out of, but who did have a serious side.
as for Ghostbusters: I really didn't like the first one, so why bother?
------------------
Did you know that all Chinese college students get mandatory military training? But just summer training, no draft and no long term mandatory service.
And their snowflake students are now complaining about it.
and south China had some bad flooding in Wuhan..
----------------
Freakonomics on gender barriers. Most of it is about the good old days, when real barriers made it hard for us.
Once "feminists" took over in the mid 1970's, the "mean girls" who persecuted us in college for being nerds decided they were "feminists" and took credit for our success, as if the feminist movement in 1975 was the reason I got into medical school a decade earlier.
The real reason for the feminist revolution is actually the pill...
The problem with women having a successful career is children, of course. One barrier back then was asking how we could take care of children when we worked 80 hours a week. Unlike here in the Philippines, the US didn't have extended families to do this, and most could not afford nannies.
I essentially worked "part time" as a doc (i.e. 40 hours a week) when I had kids. Hence the gender pay gap.
------------------------
NYTimes essay on the problem when sick people don't have family to feed and house them. link2
where is the extended family in this?
Some are homeless (often from substance abuse), abandoned their spouses or lost them because of promiscuity...
However, remember that 37 million Americans are caretakers for their elderly family members or neighbors. They are often overlooked.
------------------
Sigh. The problem is one third are not married, and they don't have the extended family in the slums as they did when they lived in villages.
They are Catholic, but few attend church: Often they get their spirituality from folk (pagan) religion.
This pope is emphasizing mercy and pushing the rich into caring for the poor, but not telling the poor things like the importance of marrying the mother of your child and not cheating on her. Indeed, he is busy trying to destroy the Catholic rules that date back to that nasty Jewish carpenter who said divorce is a no no. Because if you think people should follow the rules that protect the innocent, you are "judgmental".
The Pentecostal solution is having preachers from their own lower class background, not upper class outsiders. These preachers emphasize God loves them, but expects you to actually follow his rules.... they train the men to be faithful, and the church home becomes an extended family to help them out.
Which is why the Catholic church is losing members there.
the west pushes abortion as the way to stop Zika microcephaly, but as the woman in the LATimes story says, she got it late in pregnancy and the ultrasound didn't pick it up. And you don't do abortions at 8 months...the kid will live unless you do a very risky procedure to kill it inside the womb when it is half born.
--------------------------
Strategypage discusses the changing mess in Syria...
----------------------
the heck with the political conventions: ComicCon has the real news: Valerian is coming.
no I am not a follower of the Marvel Universe, but hey, they rule the boxoffice...
and the new Startrek movie is not getting good reviews... personally, I don't like the reboot, except for Scottie. Too many special effects that distract one from the story... and Chris Pine plays Kirk as an immature Kingsman-type smart ass. In the original series, he was Odysseus, the trickster who never had a problem he couldn't figure a way out of, but who did have a serious side.
as for Ghostbusters: I really didn't like the first one, so why bother?
------------------
Did you know that all Chinese college students get mandatory military training? But just summer training, no draft and no long term mandatory service.
And their snowflake students are now complaining about it.
and south China had some bad flooding in Wuhan..
----------------
Freakonomics on gender barriers. Most of it is about the good old days, when real barriers made it hard for us.
Once "feminists" took over in the mid 1970's, the "mean girls" who persecuted us in college for being nerds decided they were "feminists" and took credit for our success, as if the feminist movement in 1975 was the reason I got into medical school a decade earlier.
The real reason for the feminist revolution is actually the pill...
The problem with women having a successful career is children, of course. One barrier back then was asking how we could take care of children when we worked 80 hours a week. Unlike here in the Philippines, the US didn't have extended families to do this, and most could not afford nannies.
I essentially worked "part time" as a doc (i.e. 40 hours a week) when I had kids. Hence the gender pay gap.
------------------------
NYTimes essay on the problem when sick people don't have family to feed and house them. link2
where is the extended family in this?
Some are homeless (often from substance abuse), abandoned their spouses or lost them because of promiscuity...
However, remember that 37 million Americans are caretakers for their elderly family members or neighbors. They are often overlooked.
------------------
Thursday, July 21, 2016
It was bureaucrats, not space aliens (who built the pyramids)
One of the amusing parts of reading ancient history is finding that writing was not developed to write down stories but to keep track of commerce and taxes.
well, they have found the notes taken by the overseer of the workers making the Great Pyramid.
no, it wasn't space aliens, the stones were moved via canals.
Now the question is how they were raised.
well, they have found the notes taken by the overseer of the workers making the Great Pyramid.
no, it wasn't space aliens, the stones were moved via canals.
Its entries are dated to the 27th year of Khufu’s reign, when the major remaining building task involved assembling the limestone casing that would cover the outside of the pyramid. Merer detailed the route by which the limestone was transported to the pyramid site from a quarry near present-day Cairo via boat along the Nile and a network of canals—a trip that took four days in all.
Now the question is how they were raised.
The story behind the florist
It might sound like trivia, but there is a difference between being non discriminatory and cooperating with evil.
The CSMonitor has a nuanced story about a florist who refused to cooperate with a gay wedding, even though the customer was a friend.
headsup Ann Althouse, who adds this wry quote to her blogpost.
Under Obamacare, forcing people to pay for abortion pills and abortions are already in the courts.
And in the future, doctors, hospitals and hospices will be forced to cooperate with killing people by euthanasia, as is being done in Canada.
Slippery slope arguments are often denied, but very real. And if you don't think that all this pro killing the handicapped talk won't result in people killing the handicapped, then you are just as much a fool as President Obama who didn't think that shouting kill the cops might result in dead policemen.
The agenda was planned 40 years ago, and has taken time but with the dechristianization of America, will succeed, probably via the Supreme Court.
This is the missing piece the explains why religious folks might back a charlatan like Trump: Because if Hillary gets in, the agenda will go into high gear. Probably via the Supreme Court.
Luckily for her, the Bernadine "seamless garment" ideas have impressed SJN catholics (with the help of Soros money backed organizations that claim to be catholic) that SJW issues like immigration trumps killing, so back the democrats and ignore the problem.
Lesser of two evils anyone?
------------------
update: That didn't take long. Smith at NR notes there is a law in Vermont requiring doctors to counsel their patients that being killed is an option. They don't have to do it, they just have to bring it up as one of their "options".
The CSMonitor has a nuanced story about a florist who refused to cooperate with a gay wedding, even though the customer was a friend.
She did not object to selling flowers or floral arrangements from her shop to Ingersoll, as she’d done many times before. What she objected to was the possibility of a job requiring her personal involvement in the celebration of a same-sex marriage. That would be a denunciation of her faith.so she faces financial ruin.
So when Ingersoll arrived in her shop, excited to share his happy news, Stutzman was torn.
“Rob was asking me to choose between my affection for him and my commitment to Christ,” she would later write in a Seattle Times essay. “As deeply fond as I am of Rob, my relationship with Jesus is everything to me.” ...
headsup Ann Althouse, who adds this wry quote to her blogpost.
This has implications beyond cakes or flowers.
The point was to ruin her... It was to send a message to the [people of] the state and the nation that if you dare to say ‘I refuse to violate my religious faith,’ they will literally put everything you own at risk."
Under Obamacare, forcing people to pay for abortion pills and abortions are already in the courts.
And in the future, doctors, hospitals and hospices will be forced to cooperate with killing people by euthanasia, as is being done in Canada.
Slippery slope arguments are often denied, but very real. And if you don't think that all this pro killing the handicapped talk won't result in people killing the handicapped, then you are just as much a fool as President Obama who didn't think that shouting kill the cops might result in dead policemen.
The agenda was planned 40 years ago, and has taken time but with the dechristianization of America, will succeed, probably via the Supreme Court.
This is the missing piece the explains why religious folks might back a charlatan like Trump: Because if Hillary gets in, the agenda will go into high gear. Probably via the Supreme Court.
Luckily for her, the Bernadine "seamless garment" ideas have impressed SJN catholics (with the help of Soros money backed organizations that claim to be catholic) that SJW issues like immigration trumps killing, so back the democrats and ignore the problem.
Lesser of two evils anyone?
------------------
update: That didn't take long. Smith at NR notes there is a law in Vermont requiring doctors to counsel their patients that being killed is an option. They don't have to do it, they just have to bring it up as one of their "options".
Pokemon Go for dummies
FirstThings has an article explaining PokemonGo to those of us who rarely leave our homes.
MBul article says it hasn't been released here yet but it is due any time now.t
MBul article says it hasn't been released here yet but it is due any time now.t
When business and politics overlap
Vice article on Hillary, her emails, and Sydney B (aka sid vicious) why was he there? As part of the Clinton foundation, or as an irregular gatherer of intelligence for Clinton to make state dept decisions outside of regular channels, or was he there looking to make money for himself?
Like the lucrative speeches that politicians of both parties give to banks/businesses/investment firms, they make the rest of us roll up our eyes.
These ties, like those of the Clinton foundation, where those who donate get government contracts, are not well covered in the MSM. Conflict of interest? Business as usual?
But then we have the question of Trump. He is rich. He used much of his own money to run for president. Does this mean he is buying the office, (except spending money didn't work for Jeb) or does it mean he will be able to make decisions without owing favors? Or does it mean he will use his government job to make his company rich?
Does it mean he will make national security decisions based on his own business contacts?
Trump tower is rising in Makati... it is actually under a company run by his son, not Trumpie himself.
But when it comes to the west Philippine sea, does that mean he would get information from his business business contacts here? Will this investment influence foreign policy?
And although he bashes China's business practices, he has a lot of ties with their business community.
WSJ Article about the problem
In other words, both candidates have problems.
so what is being pushed by the media? some minor plagerism.
Joe Biden call your office....
Like the lucrative speeches that politicians of both parties give to banks/businesses/investment firms, they make the rest of us roll up our eyes.
These ties, like those of the Clinton foundation, where those who donate get government contracts, are not well covered in the MSM. Conflict of interest? Business as usual?
But then we have the question of Trump. He is rich. He used much of his own money to run for president. Does this mean he is buying the office, (except spending money didn't work for Jeb) or does it mean he will be able to make decisions without owing favors? Or does it mean he will use his government job to make his company rich?
Does it mean he will make national security decisions based on his own business contacts?
Trump tower is rising in Makati... it is actually under a company run by his son, not Trumpie himself.
But when it comes to the west Philippine sea, does that mean he would get information from his business business contacts here? Will this investment influence foreign policy?
And although he bashes China's business practices, he has a lot of ties with their business community.
WSJ Article about the problem
In other words, both candidates have problems.
so what is being pushed by the media? some minor plagerism.
Joe Biden call your office....
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
The Haitian mess
in a previous post I mentioned the problem/corruption in the funds supposed to help Haiti after their devastating earthquake, but due to the brownout being due I could only find the report on right wing sites.
Well, now that the internet is back on, I had time to check and HERE is a NYTimes story about the mess.
the WAPO has a puff piece here. I say puff piece because it doesn't go into details.
Among the litany of complaints being laid at their feet: Fewer than half the jobs promised at the industrial park, built after 366 farmers were evicted from their lands, have materialized. Many millions of dollars earmarked for relief efforts have yet to be spent. Mrs. Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham has turned up in business ventures on the island, setting off speculation about insider deals.
key description:
By the end of the last decade, the Clinton Foundation had been built to fit Bill Clinton’s role in the world. He was a private citizen, a super-connected retiree who could raise and spend money with very little scrutiny of who gave it and who got it.
Global Research calls the organization "predatory humanitarianism".
and has another article that goes into details in this interview with Charles Ortel
DC: In your discussions of the Clinton Foundation on your website and elsewhere, Charles, you often bring up the absence of tax audits by the Clinton entities. What is the problem there? CO: By audits, I mean detailed income statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements, and footnotes that are double-checked, that is “audited,” by competent, informed and licensed accounting firms.
Accounting firms understand the numerous detailed requirements that must be followed as these audits are completed. Furthermore, the management and trustees of large entities, like those of the Clintons, are required to certify that the information contained in these audits is true, accurate, and complete.
This is different from the process by which the IRS might decide to audit a given tax return. All financial information provided to the IRS by charities whose revenues are above a low threshold must procure financial statements and supporting information that are audited and must make this work available to taxing authorities and to the general public.
The Clinton entities have repeatedly failed to get their financial statements properly audited. This is an ongoing abuse. I believe they got away with this probably because Lois Lerner was a key person in the IRS who oversaw tax-exempt charities, including the Clinton entities, from 2001 through 2013.
Ortel's website here.
and the left wing site Counterpunch has more HERE.
for example?
Secretary Clinton supervised the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the leading donors in the $16 billion effort, referred to as a “gold rush” by Ambassador Kenneth Merten. Highlighting the proximity to the power couple, many who benefited from this gold rush were Clinton contributors.
Isabeau Doucet and Isabel Macdonald uncovered the role played by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway in building trailers that had formaldehyde, the same trailers that caused people to be sick when FEMA rolled them out following Hurricane Katrina.
I haven't had time to read it, but The Atlantic has an article HERE.
essentially it says: Conflict of interest? Paper work problems? Well, it's the Clintons, so what did you expect?
so it looks like Hillary has the establishment on her side, and like a certain lovely lady who used to be president here, she will charm
Trolling in step
I'm not following politics, but David Warren has the drollest story of the plagerism faux scandal.
Has anyone checked where Michelle got the lines? They were scintillating, to the media, when Michelle uttered them. She praised hard work, and family values. No one must have thought of doing that before, in a stump speech. How her words must have resonated over the last eight years, for liberal journalists spotted them in seconds. According to my chief social media observer, the charge of “plagiarism” was filling the twittersphere before Melania finished speaking; possibly before she started.
.. A question: Were the journalists plagiarizing each other? Or had they all decided on the meme in advance?
read the whole thing, which says more about the press than it does about Mrs Trump the third.
He ends his essay with a non PC comment:
But between us, gentle reader, don’t you think she’s pretty hot for forty-six? Shouldn’t we be asking what moisturizer she uses?
well, a quick google answers that question:
She has her own brand of skin care products: she is a Trump, you know....
CAVIAR
The Melania Collection is made of 100% pure Caviar Complexe C6™. These patent-pending formulas consist of caviar imported from a cultered sturgeon farm in the South of France. The quality control processes ensure that the caviar is harvested at optimal ripeness so as to maximize the nutrients and the formulation results.
Family news
Brownout all day. We've been on generators which is good because it is hot outside.
Joy and Ruby got back from the Agri-business meeting in Macau and had a grand time, and a horror story about airport security there.
a for me, I'm staying away from the TV news. Too crazy. Also staying away from facebook because it is full of two minute hate stuff from both sides of the political spectrum.
Of course, brownout means no internet and no cable (actually the cable came on in the afternoon). They are having rolling brownouts in Manila due to lack of electricity, but here the reason is that they are replacing the wooden electric poles with crazy wires all over the place with new cement poles, with fewer wires and with insulators for the wires.
Hopefully they will be high enough that the rice trucks won't snag them down when they detour around our house due to traffic on main street.
Joy and Ruby got back from the Agri-business meeting in Macau and had a grand time, and a horror story about airport security there.
a for me, I'm staying away from the TV news. Too crazy. Also staying away from facebook because it is full of two minute hate stuff from both sides of the political spectrum.
Of course, brownout means no internet and no cable (actually the cable came on in the afternoon). They are having rolling brownouts in Manila due to lack of electricity, but here the reason is that they are replacing the wooden electric poles with crazy wires all over the place with new cement poles, with fewer wires and with insulators for the wires.
Hopefully they will be high enough that the rice trucks won't snag them down when they detour around our house due to traffic on main street.
Gay Caswell is asking for help
Mrs Gay Caswell tends to be a bit dramatic, but her reports about life "on the res" (as we would call it in the US) tend to sound about right.
Now her daughter is being stalked by a woman who befriended her after the woman's son died. The daughter has left her convent, and is acting strange, and when they both (!) visited the parents, the older woman would not let the daughter talk to her mom in private. Read the whole strange story at the link.
How did they meet? She got to know Sister after the woman's son drowned.
Usually I would shrug and think "lesbian love affair, no problem". Except this sounds a bit sinister. And the strange woman is anti gay marriage. Gay hints at a "cult", but I've known a few rabid right wing catholics who are very controlling of others, albeit usually they are the father of "home schooled kids" (and no, I am not condemning home schooling: my family does this the right way).
And if they supposedly from a "noble" French family, then why are they raising money to visit France? So far 24thousand dollars have been raised, some of it appears to have been raised in France.
But where did this money come from? MrsC write s:
The woman claims to be married to a member of the nobility, yet the husband works at a storage company... no he quit that job and now works elsewhere. Managerial job. Probably makes oodles of money. Third job in five years.
So, anyway, Mrs C relates a very strange story, almost sounding like a cult/brainwashing of her daughter.
And she put a "headsup" on her blog asking for help, if any of my ten readers knows anything to help.
Now her daughter is being stalked by a woman who befriended her after the woman's son died. The daughter has left her convent, and is acting strange, and when they both (!) visited the parents, the older woman would not let the daughter talk to her mom in private. Read the whole strange story at the link.
How did they meet? She got to know Sister after the woman's son drowned.
Usually I would shrug and think "lesbian love affair, no problem". Except this sounds a bit sinister. And the strange woman is anti gay marriage. Gay hints at a "cult", but I've known a few rabid right wing catholics who are very controlling of others, albeit usually they are the father of "home schooled kids" (and no, I am not condemning home schooling: my family does this the right way).
And if they supposedly from a "noble" French family, then why are they raising money to visit France? So far 24thousand dollars have been raised, some of it appears to have been raised in France.
this French site mentions the kid was buried in Paris, so that might be true.
We will honor his memory by raising funds for Benoit, his wife Marguerite and their 5 kids to travel to France and lay Aloys to rest with their family.
But where did this money come from? MrsC write s:
Sr. just phoned to tell us that she would be away for ten days while she is visiting French shrines. She would not tell us who is paying for this and who else is involved. I made this public because one has to assume that our daughter is under the emotional and financial control of one who has openly stated that “ every time somebody dies something good happens to ME.( Emphasis mine). Please make public.
The woman claims to be married to a member of the nobility, yet the husband works at a storage company... no he quit that job and now works elsewhere. Managerial job. Probably makes oodles of money. Third job in five years.
So, anyway, Mrs C relates a very strange story, almost sounding like a cult/brainwashing of her daughter.
And she put a "headsup" on her blog asking for help, if any of my ten readers knows anything to help.
Philippine news
StrategyPage report on the Philippines says that China will now be willing to "discuss" the problem with the Philippines.
In the meanwhile, Duterte's war on the drug cartels and pushers is in high gear, keeping the courts busy and the people happy.
And Duterte is mad at China, since the Chinese cartels are the big guys behind the local drugs, and he suspects that their government is taking bribes (best case scenerio) or helping them to run their businesses here and elsewhere (we are a transit for sending drugs to other countries and China is infamous for laundering drug money. Theoretically it is illegal, but one suspects a small gift will allow the Chinese officials to ignore the problem). China the government pulls a Sargent Shultz and says "I see nothing" and says they will cooperate.
lJazeerah reports on China's involvement with the drug trade, made worse by the manufacture of designer drugs.
-------------
In related news, our lovely ex president Gloria has gotten a "get out of jail free" card by the SC here: Not enough evidence... they were indicted, but to get them convicted is hard: it's easy to scare witnesses and hide money.
but the actual case being tried in court was about the local charity lottery funds being misused.
then there was the ZTE money, (the deal fell through after the press reported the problems):
But rich people have connections: George Clooney's wife filed a case with the UN crying that poor Gloria was being treated badly.
This was because the gov't wouldn't let her get medical treatment abroad (i.e. letting her flee: the care is excellent here in Manila).
Hillary was also worried about her
This was not the only suspected corruption against her. But kickbacks and bribes under the table are hard to prove in court.
This is alas business as usual here, and yes there are laws and good people trying to stop the problem..
________________
How do frauds and kickbacks and "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" work?
This is a political site, but explains how the Clinton foundation made rich people rich.
Polifact says that most of the money given to the foundation went to charity, but a closer look would find the problem: Kickbacks and delivering sub standard goods.
LINK
Tip of iceburg of course.
My beef is not that they stole the money: It is that they didn't deliver what they promised. The houses were substandard and other projects were useless.
There is a special place in hell for those who take money from poor people, either directly or by fraud and corruption and kickbacks.
This is often overlooked in the west, where at least you overpay or bribe but get decent goods and products in return for your money.
But apparently scamming money supposed to be used for Haiti's earthquake victims is okay: Look! Plagerism!
As if anyone cared. But one has to admire that someone noticed it so fast. Reminds me of when a local politician opposed the birth control bill and quoted an obscure speech by Bobby Kennedy: The facebook/tweeter trolls destroyed him.
Reminds me of the punctuation police: They are ever on alert to find a misplaced semicolon.
What is that phrase? Plank/mote?
oh yes: And the next victim will be Drudge. How dare he oppose the will of the Republican establishment!
as Lolo often said: They're all crooks...
could this lead to war? It is about more than the Philippines: it is about sea lane and air lane access for a lot of folks who use these international channels, not to mention hinting to other countries that they will push them around:
This (the court case that said China was wrong) was a major disappointment for China which used lots of bribes and threats since the case was filed in 2013 to organize international opposition
.
If China makes more claims or goes through with threats to declare the air space over its illegal artificial islands to be restricted anyone who challenged China would be within the law and Chinese use of force would be an outlaw act....
If China goes to war it loses. If it violates the court decree it risks international sanctions and the kind of economic slump that will threaten the authority of the current Chinese government.
In the meanwhile, Duterte's war on the drug cartels and pushers is in high gear, keeping the courts busy and the people happy.
And Duterte is mad at China, since the Chinese cartels are the big guys behind the local drugs, and he suspects that their government is taking bribes (best case scenerio) or helping them to run their businesses here and elsewhere (we are a transit for sending drugs to other countries and China is infamous for laundering drug money. Theoretically it is illegal, but one suspects a small gift will allow the Chinese officials to ignore the problem). China the government pulls a Sargent Shultz and says "I see nothing" and says they will cooperate.
lJazeerah reports on China's involvement with the drug trade, made worse by the manufacture of designer drugs.
-------------
In related news, our lovely ex president Gloria has gotten a "get out of jail free" card by the SC here: Not enough evidence... they were indicted, but to get them convicted is hard: it's easy to scare witnesses and hide money.
but the actual case being tried in court was about the local charity lottery funds being misused.
then there was the ZTE money, (the deal fell through after the press reported the problems):
Macapagal-Arroyo is fending calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos took millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329 million contract between the Philippine government and China's ZTE Corp. for the network project.
But rich people have connections: George Clooney's wife filed a case with the UN crying that poor Gloria was being treated badly.
This was because the gov't wouldn't let her get medical treatment abroad (i.e. letting her flee: the care is excellent here in Manila).
Hillary was also worried about her
This was not the only suspected corruption against her. But kickbacks and bribes under the table are hard to prove in court.
This is alas business as usual here, and yes there are laws and good people trying to stop the problem..
________________
How do frauds and kickbacks and "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" work?
This is a political site, but explains how the Clinton foundation made rich people rich.
Polifact says that most of the money given to the foundation went to charity, but a closer look would find the problem: Kickbacks and delivering sub standard goods.
LINK
Tip of iceburg of course.
My beef is not that they stole the money: It is that they didn't deliver what they promised. The houses were substandard and other projects were useless.
There is a special place in hell for those who take money from poor people, either directly or by fraud and corruption and kickbacks.
This is often overlooked in the west, where at least you overpay or bribe but get decent goods and products in return for your money.
But apparently scamming money supposed to be used for Haiti's earthquake victims is okay: Look! Plagerism!
As if anyone cared. But one has to admire that someone noticed it so fast. Reminds me of when a local politician opposed the birth control bill and quoted an obscure speech by Bobby Kennedy: The facebook/tweeter trolls destroyed him.
Reminds me of the punctuation police: They are ever on alert to find a misplaced semicolon.
What is that phrase? Plank/mote?
oh yes: And the next victim will be Drudge. How dare he oppose the will of the Republican establishment!
as Lolo often said: They're all crooks...
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Factoid of the day
WesternDigs as an article on a possible pre Clovis site in Texas.
The article goes into details on why they believe this means people were around before the Clovis people arrived (or the locals developed or borrowed the design from the Clovis point)
nut it includes this factoid on Luminesence dating:
more here:
======
The article goes into details on why they believe this means people were around before the Clovis people arrived (or the locals developed or borrowed the design from the Clovis point)
nut it includes this factoid on Luminesence dating:
why is this important? Because if true, that means they didn't walk over the glaciers... implying that maybe folks just came down along the coast.
To establish their age, Wernecke and his colleagues submitted 18 of the artifacts to a lab for optically stimulated luminescence dating — a process that analyzes tiny grains in the soils to reveal when they were last exposed to sunlight, thereby giving a sense of how long they’ve been buried. The results showed that the artifacts were between 13,200 to 16,700 years old.
more here:
======
Family news
Joy and Ruby are supposed to be arriving home later today from Macau where they attended a business meeting representing local agricultural entrepeneurs.
It's hot so I am mainly staying inside and avoiding TV and even the internet, since all the news is crazy.
It's hot so I am mainly staying inside and avoiding TV and even the internet, since all the news is crazy.
Headlines under the fold
No I'm not watching the convention, but if you want to be up to date, Dave Barry is there: He missed the naked ladies protest, but:
---------------------------------------------
via Dave Barry:
UK Mail:How to make a rocket from Pasta.
don't tell the terrorists.
----------------
DavidReneke discusses the Zodiac in history. The signs used for astrology are those of Babylon, but the sky has changed since then....
includes this factoid:
-------------------------
PhysOrg: how hummingbirds avoid collisions.
-------------------
Tim Blair is tired of the press blaming the victims of terrorism for not being nice enough.
and Crisis magazine is tired of "catholic" blogs for ridiculing Maria Goretti's heroism as "slut shaming".
and despite all the rhetoric, biracial marriages and children are common and socially accepted.
------------------------------
The Turkish coup question of the day: Why were the lists of who to purge already made up up before it happened? LINK2
update: Formerspook discusses, and has several background links on the issue.
we have had these small military coups all the time in the Philippines, but rarely have so many been arrested or purged or killed in them.
INdeed, Trilianes not only didn't go to jail for long, but he's a senator now.
----------------
Finally, after much wandering, we found the protest march. I have been to every national political convention since 1984, and I have seen many street protests, and I am here to tell you that, despite the fervent desire of the protesters to be edgy, they are by far the most traditional actors in the kabuki theater of American politics. These protesters were no exception: They were mostly young people carrying signs expressing their opposition to racism, sexism, fascism and of course capitalism, and they were shouting slogans that only they were listening to. They were far outnumbered by the news media and the police, who were busy closing streets so the protesters could pass through, to the annoyance of the actual public.
---------------------------------------------
via Dave Barry:
UK Mail:How to make a rocket from Pasta.
don't tell the terrorists.
----------------
DavidReneke discusses the Zodiac in history. The signs used for astrology are those of Babylon, but the sky has changed since then....
includes this factoid:
But for 17 days in December, the Sun does not sit in any of the 12 signs you’re familiar with. It rests in the constellation Ophiuchus. What’s an Ophiuchus? The Greeks believed this to be the god and inventor of medicine. Now the good doctor is up in the sky wrestling a snake. It’s a long story, but if you were born between Dec. 1 and 17, you may have to rethink your horoscope. According to astronomy, you are an Ophiuchus.
-------------------------
PhysOrg: how hummingbirds avoid collisions.
-------------------
Tim Blair is tired of the press blaming the victims of terrorism for not being nice enough.
and Crisis magazine is tired of "catholic" blogs for ridiculing Maria Goretti's heroism as "slut shaming".
and despite all the rhetoric, biracial marriages and children are common and socially accepted.
------------------------------
The Turkish coup question of the day: Why were the lists of who to purge already made up up before it happened? LINK2
update: Formerspook discusses, and has several background links on the issue.
we have had these small military coups all the time in the Philippines, but rarely have so many been arrested or purged or killed in them.
INdeed, Trilianes not only didn't go to jail for long, but he's a senator now.
----------------
Monday, July 18, 2016
China's economic war against poor people
StrategyPage has an article on China's fishing in other people's waters.
Indonesia is fighting back.
In the case of Indonesia the fighting back consists of shooting at poachers and, since 2014, destroying (via explosives or burning) over 170 ships used by guilty poachers. Indonesia calculates that this poaching costs Indonesia over $2 billion a year and that China’s worldwide poaching operation brings in over $20 billion a year. Since China does not officially admit it is organizing and controlling this, and the Indonesians are using large warships with orders to fire on any poacher caught and refusing to surrender, the Chinese are taking most of the losses off Indonesia. For a while China sent warships to accompany flotillas (often ten or more ocean going fishing ships) and protect the poachers if caught and keep the police or coast guard boats busy while the poachers escaped. But Indonesia responded by sending out warships (corvettes and frigates) with orders to fire on any foreign warships caught with the poachers. China stopped sending warships but the poachers kept on coming and Indonesia keeps capturing and prosecuting the crews.
Argentina has also captured these illegal fishing vessels.
If the Philippines had done this, we wouldn't have airstrips and military bases in international waters. Did President Obama pressure PNoy not to defend our waters? Who knows?
And this article is about China's neocolonialism in Africa.
Indonesia is fighting back.
In the case of Indonesia the fighting back consists of shooting at poachers and, since 2014, destroying (via explosives or burning) over 170 ships used by guilty poachers. Indonesia calculates that this poaching costs Indonesia over $2 billion a year and that China’s worldwide poaching operation brings in over $20 billion a year. Since China does not officially admit it is organizing and controlling this, and the Indonesians are using large warships with orders to fire on any poacher caught and refusing to surrender, the Chinese are taking most of the losses off Indonesia. For a while China sent warships to accompany flotillas (often ten or more ocean going fishing ships) and protect the poachers if caught and keep the police or coast guard boats busy while the poachers escaped. But Indonesia responded by sending out warships (corvettes and frigates) with orders to fire on any foreign warships caught with the poachers. China stopped sending warships but the poachers kept on coming and Indonesia keeps capturing and prosecuting the crews.
Argentina has also captured these illegal fishing vessels.
If the Philippines had done this, we wouldn't have airstrips and military bases in international waters. Did President Obama pressure PNoy not to defend our waters? Who knows?
And this article is about China's neocolonialism in Africa.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Turkish problems
Lots of stuff being written about Turkey, an a lot of it is confused, but Spengler at the Asian times points out they oohave demographic and economic problems LINK
Art and beauty
Sometimes the thing to do when the world is chaotic is to rest your mind on the good.... and this includes seeing the beautiful in art.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Factoid of the day
From GetReligion: Why do Orthodox and Catholics make the sign of the cross differently?
Catholics spontaneously evolved the left to right part in the middle ages.
Protestants just dropped it altogether, but I am not sure why.
Tebow's genuflection (aka Teabowing) made the press froth at the mouth, but the use of the sign of the cross in sports is sort of ignored, probably because the press doesn't see it as anything but superstition. Ah, but is it?
Catholics spontaneously evolved the left to right part in the middle ages.
Protestants just dropped it altogether, but I am not sure why.
Tebow's genuflection (aka Teabowing) made the press froth at the mouth, but the use of the sign of the cross in sports is sort of ignored, probably because the press doesn't see it as anything but superstition. Ah, but is it?
Friday, July 15, 2016
Factoid of the day
Photons ignore each other....
Scitechdaily writes: but now researchers have developed a quantum gate that uses a Qubit
Scitechdaily writes: but now researchers have developed a quantum gate that uses a Qubit
In order for photons to sense each other’s presence in the first place, let alone switch each other, they need mediators.
In the experiments being conducted by Stephan Ritter’s team of physicists, this mediating role is taken on by a single atom in a resonator.
The resonator consists of two mirrors 0.5 mm apart. The Garching-based researchers use a laser beam to trap the atom in the resonator.
For their experiments, the scientists now need two photons each carrying one qubit.
A qubit is the quantum mechanical equivalent of the bit of a conventional computer. It can, however, not only encode the zero and the one, but assume all possible states in between as well.
The researchers write the states of the two qubits into the polarization of the two light particles, i.e. into the direction of oscillation of the electromagnetic waves.
An integrated Sock hop? We haz that
I ran across an article where the SJW shut down a college party with a 1950's theme (aka a "sock hop") because... something about those parties were areas of bigotry and segregation.
But ironically, sock hops were on the leading edge of integration:
from the Hollywood reporter: Five Ways that Dick Clark revolutionized American music.
2. He Encouraged the Integration of Pop Music From Bandstand's beginning, Clark had committed to integrating the show.
The image of a racially diverse crowd of teenagers doing “The Twist” right alongside Chubby Checker is among Bandstand’s most indelible, and would later be dramatized in movies like Hairspray and on NBC’s American Dreams (which Clark produced).
In 1958, Clark curated and promoted the first racially integrated pop concert – a fact fondly recalled by the estate of Michael Jackson. "It still wasn't acceptable for them to dance with white kids, so the blacks just danced with each other. We were waiting for the explosion, but it never happened," Clark said in a 1998 interview with Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine. "The wonderful part about our decision to integrate then was that there were no repercussions, no reverberations, no battles at all — it just happened right there on a television screen in front of millions of people."
The thing about this was that no one made a big deal about it. It was not pushing it in you face, nor was it the virtue proclaiming as in today's SJW. It was just done as if it was normal, and you know what? It was.
I was just a kid, but I remember our cousins and some of our neighbors who would rush there after school to get in. You would even see a few of the dancers wearing Catholic school uniforms because they didn't bother to go home and change.
In those days,, private parties back then tended to be limited to outsiders. Catholics and Jews were outsiders: legally "welcomed" but often kept out of country clubs and even schools (My medical school has no blacks, no women, avoided letting in Catholics, and had a Jewish quota in the 1950's).
Annd yes, interrcial marriage was illegal: One of my fellow medical student in the mid 1960's was debating if she should visit her parents with her husband because the laws were still on the books.
We Catholics didn't feel welcome at the YMCA, so we had our own organizations for swimming etc.
Nor was the clannishness limited to religion: my big Irish American cousin wasn't allowed to rent the Italain American Social club for his wedding, until he mentioned the name of his Italian American fiance.
The good news is that clannishness meant self policing, and feeling safe. The bad news was that outsiders were not welcome.
But my point is that this was not a racial thing. Which is why I cringe when I hear the progressive meme "white people": Because in the 1950's, Jews and Catholic ethnics weren't considered part of the white establishment.
Biodiversity in Luzon
Physorg has an article on biodiversity in the Philippines.
Much of the deforestation is illegal logging... getting rid of corruption will help stop that problem, as will allowing the area to regrow forest again. The gov't is encouraging the reforestation projects.
did you know it is illegal to buy hardwood lumber, unless it is "old" i.e. recycled? Our gates are "recycled" hard wood lumber...
This is to discourage illegal logging. Alas, a lot of the illegal logging goes to other countries.
"The Philippines is one of the most heavily deforested countries in the tropics; only about seven percent of the old-growth tropical forest is left. We learned that quite a few of the species are seriously threatened by habitat loss and over-hunting, but none are yet extinct."
Luzon has a human population of about 50 million, including about 23 million in greater Manila, the country's capital. "Protecting all of these species from extinction is going to be a big challenge. The good news is that when the native forest is allowed to regenerate, the native mammals move back in, and the pest rats get kicked out."
Much of the deforestation is illegal logging... getting rid of corruption will help stop that problem, as will allowing the area to regrow forest again. The gov't is encouraging the reforestation projects.
did you know it is illegal to buy hardwood lumber, unless it is "old" i.e. recycled? Our gates are "recycled" hard wood lumber...
This is to discourage illegal logging. Alas, a lot of the illegal logging goes to other countries.
the good news of the day
BBC: Don't worry about Zika: In three years the epidemic will stop because everyone will have gotten it. It is called "herd immunity": If most people are immune, it means the disease won't spread.
ah but it will return in ten years or so when there are enough new people, mainly kids, to let the epidemic spread.
This assumes that, unlike Dengue, you get permanent immunity after getting the disease. And then there is a question if having had Dengue makes you get more symptoms than normal.
And then there is the question if the disease will hide in animals to reinfect humans.
Ironically, if you spray mosquitoes to keep the disease down, you might slow down the infection rate in the population, meaning it will take longer to get herd immunity.
Of course, maybe if you do it correctly you might stop the spread of the disease too.
but so far most studies suggest this occurs in one percent of pregnancies.
ah but it will return in ten years or so when there are enough new people, mainly kids, to let the epidemic spread.
This assumes that, unlike Dengue, you get permanent immunity after getting the disease. And then there is a question if having had Dengue makes you get more symptoms than normal.
And then there is the question if the disease will hide in animals to reinfect humans.
Ironically, if you spray mosquitoes to keep the disease down, you might slow down the infection rate in the population, meaning it will take longer to get herd immunity.
Of course, maybe if you do it correctly you might stop the spread of the disease too.
Although Zika infection is largely mild, with most people having no symptoms, it is known to cause microcephaly - babies born with undersized heads.
but so far most studies suggest this occurs in one percent of pregnancies.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Tolkien lectures
The Tolkien society has a bunch of new lectures up on their youtube page.
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and Prof TedSherman is posting his London summer lectures on Harry Potter on line.
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and Prof TedSherman is posting his London summer lectures on Harry Potter on line.
Some people who didn't get the "spread the hate" message
Dallas news report
read the whole thing.
Headsup Baldilocks.
---------------------
And the brother of Instapundit has an essay in USAToday about the siren song of hatred.
 |
| Screen capture from a video by staff writer Hannah Wise of protesters, counterprotesters and police coming together at the end of a protest Sunday afternoon |
'Lives matter; we are all Americans':
Dallas protesters, counterprotesters come together with police
After an hour of standing on opposite sides of the street, leaders of the two groups came together. Sgt. Jeff Hall, a 27-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, brokered the peace...
'We are not against each other, we are all on the same page," Morrison said. "Black Lives Matter does not mean all lives don't matter. It just means that black lives are being taken at an alarming rate." Morrison's boyfriend, Samuel Barnes, shared a similar message. "Lives matter. Just lives matter," he said. "Not black lives or all lives - lives matter. We are all Americans. We are all children of God."
Joseph Offut, a counterprotester wearing a shirt that said "Red White Blue," said what happened Thursday was "unrelated to the cause."...
"Today we mark history, today we're going to show the rest of the country how we came together," he said.."We need that dialog so we can get understanding,"...
Then the men and women grasped hands, bowed heads and prayed..
read the whole thing.
Headsup Baldilocks.
---------------------
And the brother of Instapundit has an essay in USAToday about the siren song of hatred.
Cat item of the day
DavidWarren has a nice essay on the history of the Cats of No. 10 Downing Street.
------------------
related item: No, the massacre of cats in the Middle Ages never occured, nor did it cause the Bubonic plague.
We are reliably informed that Larry, the cat, will remain in No. 10, Downing Street, as David Cameron and his family move back to their home in Oxfordshire, after their six-year stint in public housing. He (Larry) has proved a first-rate mouser, and is able to hold the media in thrall.
 |
| Larry, the Downing Street cat. James Glossop - WPA Pool | Getty Images |
related item: No, the massacre of cats in the Middle Ages never occured, nor did it cause the Bubonic plague.
Philippines in the Headlines ( below the fold of course)
Austin Bay summarizes what the West Philippine Sea decision means...
for China, nothing, since they now insist they own not only the sea lanes but threatening to take over the air routes that travel over the region.
Key quote:
and Philippine fisherman ask: Does that mean we can fish in our traditional areas again, without the worry that we will be shot at?
and what will VietNam do now? China grabbed the Paracel Islands from them in 1974, and last week sank one of their fishing boats...
The MBulletin reports even Indonesia is worried about Chinese fishermen depleting their maritime resources.
there is danger of a collapse of the ecosystem frrom overfishing.
The areas was fished by locals from all countries in the past.
Historically, the Ming dynasty withdrew from letting their people trade, so the vacuum essentially allowed the pirates rule the area,
The pirates even tried to take over Luzon, but were defeated by the Spaniards and the local Filipinos.
But of course, in China they only hear the government propaganda, which is being used to distract people from the corruption, pollution and some very major economic problems.
--------------------
and don't forget terrorism:
RT News reports that ISIS is planning an Asian pivot against Malaysia and the Philippines...
As for Indonesia: they were bombed last January: or as RT snidely remarks:
Indonesia snubs Saudi ‘anti-terror’ coalition... then its capital gets hit
a lot of the anti terror training in Indonesia in the past was done by Australia, in retaliation for the Bali Bombing (i.e. pre 911).
StrategyPage reports many attacks in southern Thailand this year.
Here in the Philippines, the main war is against drugs and corruption (the two are linked: Much of the drug pushers bribe the cops etc). A lot of low level pushers are turning themselves in for fear of vigilante type assassination.
And the MB reports that Chinese running a meth lab in a ship off of Subic Bay were arrested.
These vessels are also involved with smuggling of illegal and counterfeit goods. The arrest means that bribing local officials to look the other way might not work as well in the future.
but the drug trade is not just from Chinese entrepeneurs: The cops also nabbed a Korean at the airport trying to smuggle drugs to Korea and arrested some West Africans involved in the drug trade.
The Philippines is the center of drug distribution.
and also money laundering, as that Bengladesh money to casino to China heist showed.
finally, with 11 million OFW's around the world, the anti immigrant sentiment and terrorism is a worry for them..
The hope is that if President Rody cleans up some of the corruption, that they can return home and use their skills here in the Philippines.
Since Duterte is naming names and going against the big shots, everyone here is hoping he continues his cleaning up operation.
President Obama will do nothing of course.
So here we are. The Chinese government refused to participate in the arbitration. It now refuses to accept the decision. Beijing insists that it will only recognize bilateral agreements with its neighbors — which means it will bully them one on one. No nation in Southeast Asia can match Chinese power and it is very doubtful a coalition of nations could, either ...
unless that coalition had the backing of the U.S. Which leads to the next unanswered question: What will Washington do?
for China, nothing, since they now insist they own not only the sea lanes but threatening to take over the air routes that travel over the region.
Key quote:
China claims most of the energy-rich waters, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
and Philippine fisherman ask: Does that mean we can fish in our traditional areas again, without the worry that we will be shot at?
and what will VietNam do now? China grabbed the Paracel Islands from them in 1974, and last week sank one of their fishing boats...
The MBulletin reports even Indonesia is worried about Chinese fishermen depleting their maritime resources.
But Beijing’s claims overlap Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone — waters where a state has the right to exploit resources — around the Natunas, and there has been an upsurge in clashes between Indonesian patrol and navy boats and Chinese fishing vessels and coastguards.
there is danger of a collapse of the ecosystem frrom overfishing.
The areas was fished by locals from all countries in the past.
Historically, the Ming dynasty withdrew from letting their people trade, so the vacuum essentially allowed the pirates rule the area,
The pirates even tried to take over Luzon, but were defeated by the Spaniards and the local Filipinos.
But of course, in China they only hear the government propaganda, which is being used to distract people from the corruption, pollution and some very major economic problems.
--------------------
and don't forget terrorism:
RT News reports that ISIS is planning an Asian pivot against Malaysia and the Philippines...
more HERE.
The jihadist says in Malay that those fighters who cannot make it to Syria should travel to the Philippines and fight there. Udin calls on jihadists to unite under the leadership of Abu Abdullah, a Philippine extremist leader of Abu Sayyaf militant group, who swore allegiance to IS in January.
Authorities in the region have been on heightened alert since Islamic State claimed an attack in the Indonesian capital Jakarta in January in which eight people were killed, including four of the attackers.
As for Indonesia: they were bombed last January: or as RT snidely remarks:
Indonesia snubs Saudi ‘anti-terror’ coalition... then its capital gets hit
From the terrorists’ point of view, the Jakarta operation was a failure. That failure was partly due to the vigilance of Indonesian police, who had increased security across the capital in recent weeks due to what they said was the interception of terror communications.
a lot of the anti terror training in Indonesia in the past was done by Australia, in retaliation for the Bali Bombing (i.e. pre 911).
StrategyPage reports many attacks in southern Thailand this year.
There were 49 attacks during Ramadan in the three Moslem provinces, leaving 22 dead and 47 wounded. There were sixteen bombings, 22 shootings and three arson attacks.
Here in the Philippines, the main war is against drugs and corruption (the two are linked: Much of the drug pushers bribe the cops etc). A lot of low level pushers are turning themselves in for fear of vigilante type assassination.
And the MB reports that Chinese running a meth lab in a ship off of Subic Bay were arrested.
These vessels are also involved with smuggling of illegal and counterfeit goods. The arrest means that bribing local officials to look the other way might not work as well in the future.
but the drug trade is not just from Chinese entrepeneurs: The cops also nabbed a Korean at the airport trying to smuggle drugs to Korea and arrested some West Africans involved in the drug trade.
The Philippines is the center of drug distribution.
and also money laundering, as that Bengladesh money to casino to China heist showed.
finally, with 11 million OFW's around the world, the anti immigrant sentiment and terrorism is a worry for them..
The hope is that if President Rody cleans up some of the corruption, that they can return home and use their skills here in the Philippines.
Since Duterte is naming names and going against the big shots, everyone here is hoping he continues his cleaning up operation.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Oil wars
One of the back stories about China is the natural gas under the West Philippine sea. The Philippines would probably ask them to cooperate and develop the area, but they want the whole thing.
This is not the only place that natural gas is changing the power relationships.
From StrategyPage: Israel is developing it's off shore natural gas fields.
and of course, one of the biggest stories ignored by the MSM is how the US has essentially became independent in oil and fuel. Reporting this would go against the meme "blood for oil". Indeed the President's policies such as blocking an oil pipeline from Canada, helps the dictators in the Middle East, but only the union workers in the US notice his ecological policies are killing jobs.
This is not the only place that natural gas is changing the power relationships.
From StrategyPage: Israel is developing it's off shore natural gas fields.
here is some urgency to this because in 2013 Israel began pumping natural gas from offshore deposits discovered and developed since 2008. Israeli firms have found over $200 billion worth of oil and gas there so far. Israel is determined to use these finds to achieve energy independence by the end of the decade. But first the offshore facilities and pipelines have to be defended from terrorists and military threats.
and of course, one of the biggest stories ignored by the MSM is how the US has essentially became independent in oil and fuel. Reporting this would go against the meme "blood for oil". Indeed the President's policies such as blocking an oil pipeline from Canada, helps the dictators in the Middle East, but only the union workers in the US notice his ecological policies are killing jobs.
China: I came for the clams, I destroyed the reef, and now I'll go to war to keep it
China lost their case to the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea issue. Well, duh.
They will refuse to recognize the ruling, but the real question is if the US and other major powers will go along with imposing sanctions.
This is about rule of law, and the treaty of the seas. China is not only pushing local fishermen from their traditional fishing areas, but has been destroying the ecology of the area to dredge up sand etc and build artificial islands, all while Obama watched.
Question: Why do the PC MSM describe this as land "reclaimation". These shoals and reefs are not land, and never have been. What is going on is habitat destruction in the EEZ of the Philippines.
Look at all the green protests on the habitat destruction: NOT. Nah, they are anti west, not pro mother earth.
from the Inquirer:
This CSMonitor story tells the story of the reef destruction:
yes, and if you believe that I know a bridge in Brooklyn you might want to buy.
but then there is this interesting tidbit:
Giant Clams? Who's harvesting them? According to this Reuter's story, China...
and now, of course, since the reefs are already damaged, they can claim: What ecological damage?
Of course, the backstory is not about fishing: It is about pushing around their neighbors to get land that the aggressive Ming emperors once ruled. VietNam is the real loser in this, since they were once ruled by China and have gone to war to protect their borders. But China is also pushing against India, Korea, and Japan.
And then there are other issued: The reported natural gas under the reefs, of course.
This is not just about letting the Philippines and VietNam keep their economic zone free from Chinese exploitation: It is about controlling the sea lanes to Japan and Korea that go through what is traditioinally recognized as international waters.
They will refuse to recognize the ruling, but the real question is if the US and other major powers will go along with imposing sanctions.
This is about rule of law, and the treaty of the seas. China is not only pushing local fishermen from their traditional fishing areas, but has been destroying the ecology of the area to dredge up sand etc and build artificial islands, all while Obama watched.
Question: Why do the PC MSM describe this as land "reclaimation". These shoals and reefs are not land, and never have been. What is going on is habitat destruction in the EEZ of the Philippines.
Look at all the green protests on the habitat destruction: NOT. Nah, they are anti west, not pro mother earth.
from the Inquirer:
The court also cited how China destroyed reefs in the disputed waters through its illegal reclamation activities, and failed to prevent its fishermen from undertaking destructive methods of fishing and harvesting giant clams in waters beyond its EEZ.
Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/141040/duterte-govt-cautioned-vs-talks-with-china-after-un-win#ixzz4EEi48SCq Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
This CSMonitor story tells the story of the reef destruction:
Chinese officials insist that, in ecological terms, they are doing no harm in the region, and describe the Spratly Island building boom as "environmentally friendly." Earlier this year, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China’s island-building efforts in the Spratlys “strictly follow the principle of conducting green project and building ecological islands and reefs" and that "the impact on the ecological system of coral reefs is limited.”
yes, and if you believe that I know a bridge in Brooklyn you might want to buy.
but then there is this interesting tidbit:
But Prof. McManus told Time.com that this might be true only in the sense "the affected reefs were already scarred by giant-clam harvesting."
Giant Clams? Who's harvesting them? According to this Reuter's story, China...
On paper, this was forbidden, but as usual the Chinese looked the other way, and encouraged it to bolster their claims to the area.
What used to be really good coral reefs in there have definitely been decimated over the last two to three years," Lin said.... "I think the Hainanese have essentially taken out all the giant clam shells from the South China Sea, dead or alive," said Ed Gomez, a senior adviser at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute.
and now, of course, since the reefs are already damaged, they can claim: What ecological damage?
Of course, the backstory is not about fishing: It is about pushing around their neighbors to get land that the aggressive Ming emperors once ruled. VietNam is the real loser in this, since they were once ruled by China and have gone to war to protect their borders. But China is also pushing against India, Korea, and Japan.
And then there are other issued: The reported natural gas under the reefs, of course.
This is not just about letting the Philippines and VietNam keep their economic zone free from Chinese exploitation: It is about controlling the sea lanes to Japan and Korea that go through what is traditioinally recognized as international waters.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Family news
I'be been busy all day with shopping, banking etc.
We went to the mall for groceries since the small store around the corner shut and the one a block away doesn't have everything.
There have been thunderstorms on and off all weekend, so I tend to be on line only for short amounts of time.
Ruby is in Manila with her Jr Achievement project and school stuff, and Joy is there with her. Joy is going to Macau tomorrow to represent her business association, and will take Ruby with her.
The main news here is that China is holding war games and keeping "civilians" out of the area they are trying to steal. They are playing tough since President Obama is busy with the "BLM" Kerfuffle, and they figure he will not do anything. Duterte is pushing peaceful solitions with China and also with the Abus, but as the saying goes: Only Nixon can go to China: and Duterte's reputation is that he will make nice, but is not a pussy or pushover....Iran and Russia and China can push Obama around, and no problem, but Duterte is scary. There are reports every day that drug dealers are killed and ordinary low level pushers are turning themselves in, for fear of being killed.
As for BLM: Aside from the fact that this is preplanned and 1968 all over again, I have been more upset about it than I should. I mean, I am aware of interracial friction, but this last kerfuffle predates Trump, and there are so many lies in the press that the real problems of gang related murders is ignored (i.e. high death rate from gang in the inner city, something that has been going on since I was in Med school 40 years ago).
But I finally figured out why the protests annoy me: The hate speech and threats of violence. I am old enough to remember MLK and the protests of the 1950's, and what changed the laws then was that dignified people singing hymns were being targeted, and this brought ordinary good folks on their side.
Such things are going on now in Dallas, according to some reports, and of course, this is what happened in Charlestown a year ago.
But the MSM and CNN is full of "Ain't it awful" stuff that inflames anger on both sides. All "whites", including we ethnics who suffered from discrimination in the past, are now considered the enemy Uh, isn't this prejudice? And presumably Asians and Hispanics are token whites too, so we aren't safe either.
My son and family are in my prayers, that the trouble stays out of Florida and the suburbs of the NEUSA...
We went to the mall for groceries since the small store around the corner shut and the one a block away doesn't have everything.
There have been thunderstorms on and off all weekend, so I tend to be on line only for short amounts of time.
Ruby is in Manila with her Jr Achievement project and school stuff, and Joy is there with her. Joy is going to Macau tomorrow to represent her business association, and will take Ruby with her.
The main news here is that China is holding war games and keeping "civilians" out of the area they are trying to steal. They are playing tough since President Obama is busy with the "BLM" Kerfuffle, and they figure he will not do anything. Duterte is pushing peaceful solitions with China and also with the Abus, but as the saying goes: Only Nixon can go to China: and Duterte's reputation is that he will make nice, but is not a pussy or pushover....Iran and Russia and China can push Obama around, and no problem, but Duterte is scary. There are reports every day that drug dealers are killed and ordinary low level pushers are turning themselves in, for fear of being killed.
As for BLM: Aside from the fact that this is preplanned and 1968 all over again, I have been more upset about it than I should. I mean, I am aware of interracial friction, but this last kerfuffle predates Trump, and there are so many lies in the press that the real problems of gang related murders is ignored (i.e. high death rate from gang in the inner city, something that has been going on since I was in Med school 40 years ago).
But I finally figured out why the protests annoy me: The hate speech and threats of violence. I am old enough to remember MLK and the protests of the 1950's, and what changed the laws then was that dignified people singing hymns were being targeted, and this brought ordinary good folks on their side.
Such things are going on now in Dallas, according to some reports, and of course, this is what happened in Charlestown a year ago.
But the MSM and CNN is full of "Ain't it awful" stuff that inflames anger on both sides. All "whites", including we ethnics who suffered from discrimination in the past, are now considered the enemy Uh, isn't this prejudice? And presumably Asians and Hispanics are token whites too, so we aren't safe either.
My son and family are in my prayers, that the trouble stays out of Florida and the suburbs of the NEUSA...
Monday, July 11, 2016
Family news
Ruby is back off to school for projects and her Jr Achievement project.
Joy is going to Macau later this week for a meeting, and her expenses are paid by them. She asked if Ruby could go along instead of a spouse, so Ruby will be going there too.
The sun came out, so her maid/laundress and my maid/laundress are busy doing the wash before the next storm/low pressure area/monsoon/ typhoon hits.
The bad news is that Kuya is fancying up our small garden so the area to hang clothes outside is limited.
Me, I am busy on line, as you can see....
Joy is going to Macau later this week for a meeting, and her expenses are paid by them. She asked if Ruby could go along instead of a spouse, so Ruby will be going there too.
The sun came out, so her maid/laundress and my maid/laundress are busy doing the wash before the next storm/low pressure area/monsoon/ typhoon hits.
The bad news is that Kuya is fancying up our small garden so the area to hang clothes outside is limited.
Me, I am busy on line, as you can see....
Agatha Christie, archeologist
Another Aramco link, about Agatha Christie's work with her second husband who was an archeologist.
while back I posted a link to her biography, but ironically there is little in that book about her time spent doing archeology.
part one (of three) here:
a lot of her books are there too...
when we were in Africa, the nuns had some of her books to read in their small library... in German. But I could follow her writing, which says more about her skill in using non fancy vocabulary than in my linguistic skills.
while back I posted a link to her biography, but ironically there is little in that book about her time spent doing archeology.
part one (of three) here:
a lot of her books are there too...
when we were in Africa, the nuns had some of her books to read in their small library... in German. But I could follow her writing, which says more about her skill in using non fancy vocabulary than in my linguistic skills.
The Viking Rus: the Arab point of view
Also from Aramco site, the story behind The Thirteenth Warrior (the book Eaters of the Dead)..
the eastern voyages of Scandinavians who traded with Baghdad and founded Russia.
The article barely mentions one of their main trading goods was slave, mainly from local Slavic farmers.
but the story of ordinary folks suffering rarely gets into history written from the point of the glorious conquerers...
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the eastern voyages of Scandinavians who traded with Baghdad and founded Russia.
The article barely mentions one of their main trading goods was slave, mainly from local Slavic farmers.
but the story of ordinary folks suffering rarely gets into history written from the point of the glorious conquerers...
---------------
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